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As expected, last night President Obama unveiled his new immigration reform plan that would effectively defer deportation for 5 million undocumented immigrants. Under his new plan, parents of legal U.S. citizens or green card holders would be allowed to continue to live and work in the United States without the threat of deportation for three years. The plan also broadens the requirements necessary for undocumented immigrants who were brought into the country as children, essentially granting legal status to hundreds of thousands more.

In his speech last night, he explained, “Mass amnesty would be unfair. Mass deportation would be both impossible and contrary to our character. What I'm describing is accountability — a common-sense, middle-ground approach.” Many Republicans criticized Obama’s executive action, saying that he circumvented Congress, with some threatening to attempt to withhold funding. Rep. Bob Goodlatte told USA Today that the move “threatens to unravel our government's system of checks and balances and imperils individual liberty" ... Discuss

After an emotional film and panel discussion, the captivated congregation sat in anticipation, waiting to hear how they could get involved and make a difference. I talked about the importance of education and political advocacy, explaining in detail the process of calling our members of Congress to push for legislative changes. Read More

If you live in Texas, North Carolina or Washington D.C., you may have heard a new radio ad that asks listeners to pray that Speaker of the House John Boehner is able to find a way to fix the immigration system. The Evangelical Immigration Table—a coalition of evangelical leaders seeking immigration reform—reportedly paid $1 million for the print and radio ad campaign that is focused on seeking God’s guidance for political leaders regarding immigration. In one of the radio ads, a pastor asks believers to pray that Boehner and other lawmakers find a compassionate solution to the country’s immigration issue. “Families are separated, employers can't find the workers they need, and the undocumented that want to get right with the law are told to get in a line that doesn't exist … Please join me in praying for Speaker Boehner and House leadership, that God will help them find an immigration solution that reflects Biblical values.” On their website, the EIT has a form where users can commit to pray for reform and learn more about immigration issues ... Discuss

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wants the United States to undertake serious immigration reform, finding more ways to give undocumented residents opportunities to remain in the country legally. In an interview with ABC News about his new FWD.us initiative, Zuckerberg said that immigration reform is “one of the biggest civil rights issues of our time.” The 29-year-old Silicon Valley billionaire told ABC, “When you meet these children who are really talented, and they’ve grown up in America and they really don’t know any other country besides that, but they don’t have the opportunities that … we all enjoy, it’s really heartbreaking, right?”

At a recent hackathon (in connection with his FWD.us immigration reform advocacy organization), Zuckerberg brought together a group of young undocumented immigrants—often referred to as “dreamers” because they would be granted legal residency under the proposed DREAM ACT—to demonstrate their talent in the tech field. “One of the things that the ‘dreamers’ here today show is that even if, you know, you’re a child of someone who came here who wouldn’t be considered one of the higher-skilled workers … you can be one of the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.” Zuckerberg said that despite the failure of Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation, he is confident that his new organization can make a difference … Discuss

The Senate has passed an immigration reform bill that would give 11 million undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship and allocate $30 billion for new border security measures. The new bill even managed to garner some bi-partisan support, with 14 Republicans voting to pass the measure on a 68-32 tally. President Obama said that the Senate vote helps in "bringing us a critical step closer to fixing our broken immigration system once and for all." The new immigration reform legislation could still fall in the House of Representatives, where Speaker John Boehner has said that he doesn’t even plan to bring the bill to the floor unless it receives support from a majority of Republicans … Discuss